The Texas Greyhound Association was established in 1987 as the official Greyhound Breed Registry in Texas for pari-mutuel racing. The TGA represents the owners, breeders and other greyhound racing participants.
The TGA registers eligible greyhounds as Texas-bred, calculates and distributes monthly Accredited Texas Bred Awards, prepares performance reports for the Texas Racing Commission and distributes “cross-species” simulcast purse money from Texas horse tracks to the greyhound tracks weekly.
In addition to its requirements under the Texas Racing Act and Rules of Racing, the TGA works closely with greyhound owners and breeders to assist them in placing their retired greyhounds into an adoption group. It also periodically inspects farms to ensure the proper care of racing greyhounds.
The TGA represents the greyhound industry in legislative matters, whether gaming issues or canine welfare legislation. Its focus is always on the greyhound. The TGA remains proactive in dealing with the many challenges facing the greyhound industry today.
Greyhound History
The origin of the greyhound is deeply rooted in ancient history; murals and paintings of dogs strikingly similar to today’s greyhound existed more than 4,000 years ago. From the beginning, the greyhound was held in high regard in the Middle East and throughout Europe. Pictures of the early greyhound can be found etched on walls of ancient Egyptian tombs and Pharaohs rated them first among all animals as both companions and hunters.
In Persia, Rome and Greece, the greyhound enjoyed similar stature and is the only canine mentioned in the Bible in Proverbs 30:29-31.
It is documented that the greyhound arrived in England over 3,500 years ago. Their link with nobility was established in 1014 when King Canute of England enacted the Forest Laws, which stated that only noblemen could own and hunt with greyhounds. In fact, greyhound racing in England was first established for the English nobility and could not be enjoyed by other citizens.
The Forest Laws were abolished in the 1500s by Queen Elizabeth I, who later initiated the first formal rules of greyhound coursing (the pursuit of hares), thus officially inaugurating the “Sport of Queens”.
Greyhounds were introduced to America in the 1800’s to help farmers control the jackrabbit population. It was not long before competitions of greyhound racing were conducted by the surrounding farmers. This proved to be both an exciting event for the local population but also proved that the greyhound loved the chase and excitement of racing. Greyhounds are “sight hounds”, meaning they instinctively chase by movement.